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Revealed: The extremist websites pored over by five British Muslims cleared of terror offences
Last updated at 23:22pm on 15.02.08A group of young Muslims cleared of terrorist offences this week spent their time poring over jihadist websites and collecting hardline Islamic material, it has been revealed.
One discussed going on "jihadi missions" in Islamic chatrooms, another collected video clips of U.S. soldiers being killed and a third doctored a picture showing the 9/11 hijackers to include his own face.
A laptop used by a fourth man was full of hardline Islamic material downloaded from the web while a fifth also stored extremist material, but claimed it was only for research.
They all walked free from court on Wednesday after judges decided that possession of Islamist videos and downloading jihadi propaganda did not make them terrorists in a ruling that has plunged UK terror laws into chaos.
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(clockwise from top left) Akbar Butt; Usman Malik; Mohammed Raja; Aitzaz Zafar; Awaab Iqbal
Mohammed Raja
The 20-year-old, from Ilford in East London, was nicknamed "the terrorist" at school for allegedly claiming that the 9/11 attacks were justified.
Raja met Bradford University student Awaab Iqbal through an Islamic chatroom. He decided to run away from home and Iqbal invited him to stay.
Raja left behind a suicide note promising his family "we will meet in the Garden of Paradise" but they managed to phone him on his mobile. He was arrested when he came back to them.
He told police he discussed going on "jihad missions" by visiting internet chatrooms.
Raja was convicted of two charges of possessing articles for terrorist purposes - three CDs and documents on his computer.
Aitzaz Zafar
The 21-year-old, from Rochdale, had videos of snipers, terrorist bombings and militant Arabic songs on a CD in his university digs in Bradford.
A police search also uncovered detailed instructions on how to wire a rocket launcher and video clips of American soldiers being attacked and killed, including one showing a man with his leg blown off.
Zafar shared a house with co-defendant Iqbal and three others. After one "rowdy" night, the word "Jihad" was scrawled on the walls.
Zafar regularly attended meetings of the Islamic Society but was eventually thrown out.
He was convicted of possessing an article for terrorist purposes. The charge related to two computer hard drives and four discs.
Awaab Iqbal
The 20-year-old, from Bradford, was a forensic science student who shared a home with Zafar - and shared his extremist views.
He hijacked an Islamic Society prayer meeting in February 2006 to demand the death of anyone publishing a cartoon depicting the prophet Muhammad.
The Bradford University student is also said to have frequently praised the London 7/7 suicide bombers.
Among the items found by police when they raided Iqbal's university digs was a "photomontage" which he had edited to place his image next to the faces of the 9/11 hijackers.
Iqbal was convicted of possessing an article for terrorist purposes. The offence related to material on three CDs.
Akbar Butt
The 21-year-old, from Southall in West London, allegedly used a computer in the Bradford University library to plan a trip to a terror training camp in Pakistan.
Butt, along with Zafar and Iqbal was also said to have discussed travel arrangements to the North-West frontier - a reputed Al Qaeda stronghold - with a contact in Lahore.
He bought his own laptop and began collecting hardline Islamic material.
He would discuss the plight of Muslims with Zafar and Iqbal, but denied that the three of them decided they wanted to fight.
He was convicted of two counts of possessing an article for terrorist purposes in relation to material on his hard drive.
Usman Malik
The 22-year-old from Bradford was described by his university tutor as "ordinary".
But there was nothing ordinary about the extremist material stored on the computers he and his co-defendants owned, the prosecution argued.
Malik said he possessed the literature "for research purposes" as he was "inquisitive".
He added: "You hear about stuff on the news and you want to find out for yourself. What I had was ideological material, not manuals or anything."
Malik was convicted of two counts of possessing an article for terrorist purposes.
The charges related to a documents called "raising Mujahideen children" and "joining the caravan" and a USB storage device.
Meanwhile, Britain was today accused of being a "soft touch" for terrorists in a damning report while George Bush suggested the families of London's 7/7 victims would back torturing suspects.
Reader views (4)
Is anyone surprised about this ? I am waiting for their compensation claims to come in.
- Grim Reaper, London
So what? I have looked at websites showing cartoons of bunny rabbits committing suicide, doesn't mean I would kill a rabbit. Has anyone watched Die Hard? Does that mean they are going to go on an armed rampage? Lunacy.
- Daveb, london
We need to get real. This country used to be a place where freedom of speech and expression were sacrosanct. Blair has by his ineptitude and fondness for feathering his own nest killed all that.
Lets regain the courage of our own convictions and get Blair and his merry gang into the witness box and ask them why they lied to this once great country
- Gazza, London/UK
Why aren't these judges named? Let's add their faces to the rogues' gallery.
- Frank, Home Counties, England.
